Australian Aviation Thread - November 2021

NZ516 · Mon Nov 08, 2021 11:21 am

Here is a really positive story about Newcastle airport which is finally receiving a lot of love from Qantas. The city has been neglected for a very long time which is unusual as it's catchment population is 1.1 million so it's fairly huge. Will they offer the city a service to Perth next I wonder?

https://simpleflying.com/qantas-flights ... -adelaide/

RyanairGuru · Mon Nov 08, 2021 12:14 pm

Chipmunk1973 wrote:
[photoid][/photoid]
qf789 wrote:
VH-OQB departed DRS a short time ago and on her way home to SYD

https://www.flightradar24.com/QFA6023/29c989fc

Interesting route for the flight. I’m assuming there are lots of head winds?

Cheers.

Other than passing slightly further north to avoid Kazakhstan (can’t explain why that would be?) it is basically following the great circle route.

Don’t forget that the world isn’t flat. A straight line between Europe and Australia, over the Middle East and to the south of India is NOT the most direct route. While not a huge difference, SYD-DXB-HKG is about 3.5% longer than SYD-HKG-LHR.

tristans · Mon Nov 08, 2021 12:41 pm

RyanairGuru wrote:
Chipmunk1973 wrote:
[photoid][/photoid]
qf789 wrote:
VH-OQB departed DRS a short time ago and on her way home to SYD

https://www.flightradar24.com/QFA6023/29c989fc

Interesting route for the flight. I’m assuming there are lots of head winds?

Cheers.

Other than passing slightly further north to avoid Kazakhstan (can’t explain why that would be?) it is basically following the great circle route.

Don’t forget that the world isn’t flat. A straight line between Europe and Australia, over the Middle East and to the south of India is NOT the most direct route. While not a huge difference, SYD-DXB-HKG is about 3.5% longer than SYD-HKG-LHR.

A bit more of a '3D' look at the route:
https://twitter.com/Keg767/status/14576 ... 19106?s=20

Thatcher · Mon Nov 08, 2021 12:45 pm

NZ516 wrote:
Here is a really positive story about Newcastle airport which is finally receiving a lot of love from Qantas. The city has been neglected for a very long time which is unusual as it's catchment population is 1.1 million so it's fairly huge. Will they offer the city a service to Perth next I wonder?

https://simpleflying.com/qantas-flights ... -adelaide/

I'm wondering whether QF's sudden / belated love of NTL might be Bonza related? Hunter Valley wineries, Port Stephens, Stockton Beach, Gloucester / Barrington Tops, Myall Lakes, and Newcastle's own attractive riverside precinct and city beaches - seems to tick some of the Bonza neglected region boxes.

The NTL runway is to be widened / strengthened too, announced in May 2021 (2023 scheduled completion), allowing it to take widebodies as large as 777.

https://infrastructuremagazine.com.au/2021/05/10/66-million-for-newcastle-airport-runway-upgrade/

Isn't the Bonza CEO / Founder from Coffs Harbour? Just up the road from Newcastle, really.

Thatcher · Mon Nov 08, 2021 12:52 pm

Sydney Airport board agrees to $23.6bn buyout deal with international consortium

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-11-08/sydney-airport-agrees-to-investment-fund-buyout-deal/100602082

The consortium, named Sydney Aviation Alliance...

Among the members of the consortium ... include IFM's Australian Infrastructure Fund and Global Infrastructure Fund as well as AustralianSuper, QSuper and Global Infrastructure Partners.

NZ516 · Mon Nov 08, 2021 9:45 pm

Thatcher wrote:
NZ516 wrote:
Here is a really positive story about Newcastle airport which is finally receiving a lot of love from Qantas. The city has been neglected for a very long time which is unusual as it's catchment population is 1.1 million so it's fairly huge. Will they offer the city a service to Perth next I wonder?

https://simpleflying.com/qantas-flights ... -adelaide/

I'm wondering whether QF's sudden / belated love of NTL might be Bonza related? Hunter Valley wineries, Port Stephens, Stockton Beach, Gloucester / Barrington Tops, Myall Lakes, and Newcastle's own attractive riverside precinct and city beaches - seems to tick some of the Bonza neglected region boxes.

The NTL runway is to be widened / strengthened too, announced in May 2021 (2023 scheduled completion), allowing it to take widebodies as large as 777.

https://infrastructuremagazine.com.au/2021/05/10/66-million-for-newcastle-airport-runway-upgrade/

Isn't the Bonza CEO / Founder from Coffs Harbour? Just up the road from Newcastle, really.

Could well be related they would certainly have the inside knowledge of what they might launch first market reports etc.

smi0006 · Mon Nov 08, 2021 9:57 pm

NZ516 wrote:
Thatcher wrote:
NZ516 wrote:
Here is a really positive story about Newcastle airport which is finally receiving a lot of love from Qantas. The city has been neglected for a very long time which is unusual as it's catchment population is 1.1 million so it's fairly huge. Will they offer the city a service to Perth next I wonder?

https://simpleflying.com/qantas-flights ... -adelaide/

I'm wondering whether QF's sudden / belated love of NTL might be Bonza related? Hunter Valley wineries, Port Stephens, Stockton Beach, Gloucester / Barrington Tops, Myall Lakes, and Newcastle's own attractive riverside precinct and city beaches - seems to tick some of the Bonza neglected region boxes.

The NTL runway is to be widened / strengthened too, announced in May 2021 (2023 scheduled completion), allowing it to take widebodies as large as 777.

https://infrastructuremagazine.com.au/2021/05/10/66-million-for-newcastle-airport-runway-upgrade/

Isn't the Bonza CEO / Founder from Coffs Harbour? Just up the road from Newcastle, really.

Could well be related they would certainly have the inside knowledge of what they might launch first market reports etc.

I also would say tourism bodies and airports are throwing a lot of money around to attract airlines and services atm - QF is lucky the 717 and E-90 are perfect for theses routes (as an A220 would be

) I wouldn’t say NTL was neglected, but it was a JQ stronghold at one point.

Hopefully as we’ve seen a significant amount of migration to the regions through covid we see these services stick around for the long haul!

evanb · Mon Nov 08, 2021 10:34 pm

smi0006 wrote:
I also would say tourism bodies and airports are throwing a lot of money around to attract airlines and services atm - QF is lucky the 717 and E-90 are perfect for theses routes (as an A220 would be ) I wouldn’t say NTL was neglected, but it was a JQ stronghold at one point.

Hopefully as we’ve seen a significant amount of migration to the regions through covid we see these services stick around for the long haul!

I think this is the most likely explanation. There is a lot of stimulus going around in Australia at the moment. In the first half of the pandemic, it was very broad based (e.g. Jobkeeper), but we've seen a lot more localised and targeted stimulus in recent months, for example, stimulus looking to boost local restaurant spending (vouchers and the like). There has been work by LGAs and states to support domestic tourism, and some of this might come in the form direct incentives to passengers or indirectly with subsidies or incentives for airlines. Qantas Group have taken advantage of these before, but also quick to withdraw once the support is removed if the route didn't develop/build viability (e.g. Zhengzhou). Let's hope that they market is supportive and most of these remain once the support is withdrawn.

qf789 · Tue Nov 09, 2021 5:07 am

OQB has now landed in SYD

https://twitter.com/markwburrows/status ... 01381?s=21

Flyover on approach

https://twitter.com/flywunala/status/14 ... 78820?s=21

qf2048 · Tue Nov 09, 2021 6:55 am

If QF goes with 737 Max, E190's for their domestic fleet replacement do you think Embraer might throw in a good deal on those new Turbo props with the rear mounted engines? The Dash series will need replacing at some point.

jrfspa320 · Tue Nov 09, 2021 7:07 am

qf2048 wrote:
If QF goes with 737 Max, E190's for their domestic fleet replacement do you think Embraer might throw in a good deal on those new Turbo props with the rear mounted engines? The Dash series will need replacing at some point.

It doesn't look like it will be ready until at least 2040 - the Dash will need replacing before then.

melpax · Tue Nov 09, 2021 8:05 am

News report of the A380's return

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKoqVapgN0A

EK413 · Tue Nov 09, 2021 11:02 am

Found footage of -OQB rotating from DRS.

https://youtu.be/wR179l6XDQQ

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NZ516 · Tue Nov 09, 2021 5:16 pm

jrfspa320 wrote:
qf2048 wrote:
If QF goes with 737 Max, E190's for their domestic fleet replacement do you think Embraer might throw in a good deal on those new Turbo props with the rear mounted engines? The Dash series will need replacing at some point.

It doesn't look like it will be ready until at least 2040 - the Dash will need replacing before then.

Wow that is a long time away to be ready 18 more years!

EK413 · Wed Nov 10, 2021 5:46 am

-OQK is the next mothballed A380 to ferry VCV-LAX 22NOV & then continue on LAX-AUH where it will enter heavy mx in January.

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qf789 · Wed Nov 10, 2021 6:10 am

The next ex Mi 738 heading for VA is 9V-MGG is currently positioning to BNE

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/SIA8 ... /WSSS/YBBN

tristans · Wed Nov 10, 2021 7:54 am

qf789 wrote:
The next ex Mi 738 heading for VA is 9V-MGG is currently positioning to BNE

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/SIA8 ... /WSSS/YBBN

Meanwhile IWQ is back in TSV, paint job not up to scratch I wonder....

EK413 · Wed Nov 10, 2021 9:42 am

Anyone wishing to experience the QF B789 on a short domestic sector the QF409, QF432, QF445 & QF462 have been up-gauged commencing 15NOV til the 23NOV.

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Dafydd · Wed Nov 10, 2021 10:27 am

NZ516 wrote:
jrfspa320 wrote:
qf2048 wrote:
If QF goes with 737 Max, E190's for their domestic fleet replacement do you think Embraer might throw in a good deal on those new Turbo props with the rear mounted engines? The Dash series will need replacing at some point.

It doesn't look like it will be ready until at least 2040 - the Dash will need replacing before then.

Wow that is a long time away to be ready 18 more years!

I think the new TP has an EIS of 2027.
https://www.flightglobal.com/airframers ... 45.article

BNEFlyer · Wed Nov 10, 2021 10:59 pm

tristans wrote:
qf789 wrote:
The next ex Mi 738 heading for VA is 9V-MGG is currently positioning to BNE

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/SIA8 ... /WSSS/YBBN

Meanwhile IWQ is back in TSV, paint job not up to scratch I wonder....

Speaking of the ex-MI 737's, VA posted a TikTok this morning of IJQ having the new 737 MAX seats installed (IWQ has already been updated).

Kent350787 · Wed Nov 10, 2021 11:07 pm

BNEFlyer wrote:
tristans wrote:
qf789 wrote:
The next ex Mi 738 heading for VA is 9V-MGG is currently positioning to BNE

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/SIA8 ... /WSSS/YBBN

Meanwhile IWQ is back in TSV, paint job not up to scratch I wonder....

Speaking of the ex-MI 737's, VA posted a TikTok this morning of either IJQ or IWQ having the new 737 MAX seats installed.

The comment does mention its a prototype, so perhaps it will eneter servcie with older while they're waiting?

BNEFlyer · Wed Nov 10, 2021 11:33 pm

Kent350787 wrote:
BNEFlyer wrote:
tristans wrote:

Meanwhile IWQ is back in TSV, paint job not up to scratch I wonder....

Speaking of the ex-MI 737's, VA posted a TikTok this morning of either IJQ or IWQ having the new 737 MAX seats installed.

The comment does mention its a prototype, so perhaps it will eneter servcie with older while they're waiting?

They'll enter service with these seats, but they may have other options to go through before making the final decision.

SCFlyer · Wed Nov 10, 2021 11:33 pm

Looks like the new VA seats on the ex-MI frames are an off-the-shelf slimline design with USB ports fitted and a place to hang your tablet on.

Although good to see the outcome are not from the two earlier reports on SimpleFlying, AA, etc of either going to service with MI seats or using recycled VA mk 1 seats.

qf789 · Thu Nov 11, 2021 1:11 am

REX to launch WIFI on 737 flights from next Monday

https://twitter.com/exec_traveller/stat ... 74435?s=21

qf789 · Thu Nov 11, 2021 1:14 am

More on VA new seats, will only be on 2 737’s for now, VA seeking feedback on new seats before considering rolling out onto other aircraft, overall it looks good

https://twitter.com/exec_traveller/stat ... 08353?s=21

zkncj · Thu Nov 11, 2021 3:53 am

qf789 wrote:
More on VA new seats, will only be on 2 737’s for now, VA seeking feedback on new seats before considering rolling out onto other aircraft, overall it looks good

https://twitter.com/exec_traveller/stat ... 08353?s=21

Just no more half wall between Y/J, even though it was an small wall. It at least made it feel an bit more exclusive from Y.

qf789 · Thu Nov 11, 2021 4:09 am

Sharp says Bonza won’t take off, is that code for he doesn’t want them to take off as if Bonza is s threat to anyone it will be REX

https://twitter.com/airlinegossip/statu ... 55392?s=21

jrfspa320 · Thu Nov 11, 2021 4:44 am

qf789 wrote:
Sharp says Bonza won’t take off, is that code for he doesn’t want them to take off as if Bonza is s threat to anyone it will be REX

https://twitter.com/airlinegossip/statu ... 55392?s=21

No surprise there, although im not convinced either. If the proposal was for used E190s which would be easier to fill, lower cost etc id be more bullish, brand new 737 max on small city pairs....hmmmmm.

qf789 · Thu Nov 11, 2021 5:32 am

It is being reported that a travel bubble between Australia and South Korea and also Japan could be announced by the end of the year, could we see QF return to ICN if the bubble is confirmed?

https://7news.com.au/lifestyle/health-w ... -c-4516403

smi0006 · Thu Nov 11, 2021 5:39 am

zkncj wrote:
qf789 wrote:
More on VA new seats, will only be on 2 737’s for now, VA seeking feedback on new seats before considering rolling out onto other aircraft, overall it looks good

https://twitter.com/exec_traveller/stat ... 08353?s=21

Just no more half wall between Y/J, even though it was an small wall. It at least made it feel an bit more exclusive from Y.

New J seat looks great, don’t mind the hard shell back especially if it gives the impression of more space and storage, leg rest is a nice feature. But I think for J and transcon, in seat entertainment would be expected. And as UA have said, pax may not use the IFE but simply having it in the seat raised customer experience scores across all areas.

I agree - I like a proper cabin divider between cabins, regardless of where I’m sitting. I think VA rope currently is naff, and stupid a full curtain just looks more sensible!

Chipmunk1973 · Thu Nov 11, 2021 6:22 am

qf789 wrote:
More on VA new seats, will only be on 2 737’s for now, VA seeking feedback on new seats before considering rolling out onto other aircraft, overall it looks good

https://twitter.com/exec_traveller/stat ... 08353?s=21

Interesting. Whilst I wouldn’t say they’re “Game Changing”, they certainly do have a nice and simple modern design.

When QF announced their intention to renew their NB fleet, I am expecting they would also do a refresh of the cabin as well but only announce it towards new aircraft arriving. And not being in anyway familiar with the companies who manufacture the seats, I’m cannot even suggest what might be options for them to consider. Anyone know any better?

Thanks and Cheers.

myki · Thu Nov 11, 2021 6:26 am

qf789 wrote:
It is being reported that a travel bubble between Australia and South Korea and also Japan could be announced by the end of the year, could we see QF return to ICN if the bubble is confirmed?

https://7news.com.au/lifestyle/health-w ... -c-4516403

That would be great. Perhaps they will just pop JQ back on the OOL-ICN route (did that ever start by the way, or did Covid get in the way?)

moa999 · Thu Nov 11, 2021 6:32 am

There are a small number of global manufacturers who have base products and can tweak design, material and options for each layout.

Eg. Qantas's Business Suite on the refurbed 380s, 787s and 330s is the Thompson Aero Vantage XL, variations of which (even including sliding doors) are used on a bunch of airlines.

VAs new Business class seems to be the Collins MIQ that American also uses.
https://www.collinsaerospace.com/what-w ... -class/miq

Others include Zodiac, BE Aerospace and Cirrus

Chipmunk1973 · Thu Nov 11, 2021 7:33 am

RyanairGuru wrote:

Other than passing slightly further north to avoid Kazakhstan (can’t explain why that would be?) it is basically following the great circle route.

Don’t forget that the world isn’t flat. A straight line between Europe and Australia, over the Middle East and to the south of India is NOT the most direct route. While not a huge difference, SYD-DXB-HKG is about 3.5% longer than SYD-HKG-LHR.

tristans wrote:
A bit more of a '3D' look at the route:
https://twitter.com/Keg767/status/14576 ... 19106?s=20

Thank you both for sharing that, it explains a lot. It’s not always easy, for me at least, to see a line on a map and try and think of that in a spherical sense.

Much appreciated and cheers.

PS. I don’t believe in a flat world either :duck:

Chipmunk1973 · Thu Nov 11, 2021 7:36 am

moa999 wrote:
There are a small number of global manufacturers who have base products and can tweak design, material and options for each layout.

Eg. Qantas's Business Suite on the refurbed 380s, 787s and 330s is the Thompson Aero Vantage XL, variations of which (even including sliding doors) are used on a bunch of airlines.

VAs new Business class seems to be the Collins MIQ that American also uses.
https://www.collinsaerospace.com/what-w ... -class/miq

Others include Zodiac, BE Aerospace and Cirrus

Cheers, thank you. Some researching to do. Even in a quick Google I’ve also discovered Thompson Aero.
:checkmark:

anstar · Thu Nov 11, 2021 10:07 am

qf789 wrote:
It is being reported that a travel bubble between Australia and South Korea and also Japan could be announced by the end of the year, could we see QF return to ICN if the bubble is confirmed?

https://7news.com.au/lifestyle/health-w ... -c-4516403

More likely to see JQ reinstate their OOL-ICN service?

RyanairGuru · Thu Nov 11, 2021 10:34 am

anstar wrote:
qf789 wrote:
It is being reported that a travel bubble between Australia and South Korea and also Japan could be announced by the end of the year, could we see QF return to ICN if the bubble is confirmed?

https://7news.com.au/lifestyle/health-w ... -c-4516403

More likely to see JQ reinstate their OOL-ICN service?

How much inbound tourism are we likely to see on the short term? I suspect not much for the first six months or so, due to lingering uncertainty etc. I suspect that the biggest beneficiary of a ‘travel bubble’ will be VFR initially, and then international students a bit later. I therefore suspect that the only initial focus will be SYD followed by BNE/MEL (can someone please remind me, does Brisbane have a larger Korean population than Melbourne?)

RyanairGuru · Thu Nov 11, 2021 10:35 am

Chipmunk1973 wrote:
RyanairGuru wrote:

Other than passing slightly further north to avoid Kazakhstan (can’t explain why that would be?) it is basically following the great circle route.

Don’t forget that the world isn’t flat. A straight line between Europe and Australia, over the Middle East and to the south of India is NOT the most direct route. While not a huge difference, SYD-DXB-HKG is about 3.5% longer than SYD-HKG-LHR.

tristans wrote:
A bit more of a '3D' look at the route:
https://twitter.com/Keg767/status/14576 ... 19106?s=20

Thank you both for sharing that, it explains a lot. It’s not always easy, for me at least, to see a line on a map and try and think of that in a spherical sense.

Much appreciated and cheers.

PS. I don’t believe in a flat world either

No worries. If you’re not familiar with it, gcmap.com is a great resource for ‘visualising’ this for any route.

kriskim · Thu Nov 11, 2021 11:22 am

RyanairGuru wrote:
anstar wrote:
qf789 wrote:
It is being reported that a travel bubble between Australia and South Korea and also Japan could be announced by the end of the year, could we see QF return to ICN if the bubble is confirmed?

https://7news.com.au/lifestyle/health-w ... -c-4516403

More likely to see JQ reinstate their OOL-ICN service?

How much inbound tourism are we likely to see on the short term? I suspect not much for the first six months or so, due to lingering uncertainty etc. I suspect that the biggest beneficiary of a ‘travel bubble’ will be VFR initially, and then international students a bit later. I therefore suspect that the only initial focus will be SYD followed by BNE/MEL (can someone please remind me, does Brisbane have a larger Korean population than Melbourne?)

Brisbane has a larger Korean diaspora population than Melbourne. But Melbourne had quite a sizeable student population pre-covid.

BNE would probably come back with KE at some point where it had a year round service, MEL only had a seasonal summer service with OZ which just kicked off. There was quite a few repatriation flights with both OZ and KE out of MEL in 2020, I’m not sure if the same can be said from BNE.

With OZ merging with KE, will be interesting to see if QF will take this chance to launch SYD-ICN. Not sure if KE would be keen to relaunch MEL, a route it dropped in 2013, I would have thought JQ would have jumped at the chance but instead choose OOL instead.

IndianicWorld · Thu Nov 11, 2021 11:52 am

kriskim wrote:
RyanairGuru wrote:
anstar wrote:

More likely to see JQ reinstate their OOL-ICN service?

How much inbound tourism are we likely to see on the short term? I suspect not much for the first six months or so, due to lingering uncertainty etc. I suspect that the biggest beneficiary of a ‘travel bubble’ will be VFR initially, and then international students a bit later. I therefore suspect that the only initial focus will be SYD followed by BNE/MEL (can someone please remind me, does Brisbane have a larger Korean population than Melbourne?)

Brisbane has a larger Korean diaspora population than Melbourne. But Melbourne had quite a sizeable student population pre-covid.

BNE would probably come back with KE at some point where it had a year round service, MEL only had a seasonal summer service with OZ which just kicked off. There was quite a few repatriation flights with both OZ and KE out of MEL in 2020, I’m not sure if the same can be said from BNE.

With OZ merging with KE, will be interesting to see if QF will take this chance to launch SYD-ICN. Not sure if KE would be keen to relaunch MEL, a route it dropped in 2013, I would have thought JQ would have jumped at the chance but instead choose OOL instead.

Really not sure exactly why JQ went with OOL for the ICN route, but it likely had a focus on the inbound market that they were looking to tap into.

MEL-ICN seemed to sit dormant for a long time, but was good to see OZ give it a try again on a seasonal basis.

It’s going to be very interesting to see what routes return and any ew routes commence. It’s a hard one to read at the moment, but one thing is for sure, most of the focus has tended to be on SYD. It’s a throwback to decades ago before MEL and BNE continued to strengthen their positions.

Thatcher · Fri Nov 12, 2021 12:55 am

IndianicWorld wrote:

It’s going to be very interesting to see what routes return and any ew routes commence. It’s a hard one to read at the moment, but one thing is for sure, most of the focus has tended to be on SYD. It’s a throwback to decades ago before MEL and BNE continued to strengthen their positions.

A throwback from QF's perspective for sure. SYD is home base, it's just easier to ramp back up there first. We may well see 20 or 30 years worth of QF expansion within ~2 years.

Other international airlines though? May be a risk thing - QLD still has an arrivals cap AFAIK and their domestic borders have been on and off like a strobe light. The VIC international borders were effectively closed twice, that may also be a wait and see. The way their state government quickly matched NSW's "aggressive" re-opening measures though suggest they are keen to get their share.

But yes, interesting times.

Chipmunk1973 · Fri Nov 12, 2021 7:16 am

IndianicWorld wrote:

Really not sure exactly why JQ went with OOL for the ICN route, but it likely had a focus on the inbound market that they were looking to tap into.

My first thought about this is perhaps gambling “Junkets”. Previously I worked for an international “gaming” company and at that time, one of our major clients was The Star in Sydney. They frequently dealt with Asian tourism operators whose primary focus was a holiday based on gaming/gambling based on what the minimum amount of money people were prepared to play with. I have no idea of the popularity of gambling within Korea, but there certainly was a lot of interest in China and Taiwan. Interestingly, they had quite an extensive amount of data on English Premier League players who visited Sydney and stayed there.

The other consideration is golf as that seems to be quite popular in Korea.

Cheers.

SenFinn · Sat Nov 13, 2021 2:28 am

Have been checking business class return fares SYD to LA in December and the prices are interesting:
United $9k
Delta $11k
Qantas $16k

I’m thinking QF has underestimated demand or they’re just making hay.

BNEFlyer · Sat Nov 13, 2021 4:44 am

smi0006 wrote:
zkncj wrote:
qf789 wrote:
More on VA new seats, will only be on 2 737’s for now, VA seeking feedback on new seats before considering rolling out onto other aircraft, overall it looks good

https://twitter.com/exec_traveller/stat ... 08353?s=21

Just no more half wall between Y/J, even though it was an small wall. It at least made it feel an bit more exclusive from Y.

New J seat looks great, don’t mind the hard shell back especially if it gives the impression of more space and storage, leg rest is a nice feature. But I think for J and transcon, in seat entertainment would be expected. And as UA have said, pax may not use the IFE but simply having it in the seat raised customer experience scores across all areas.

I agree - I like a proper cabin divider between cabins, regardless of where I’m sitting. I think VA rope currently is naff, and stupid a full curtain just looks more sensible!

On a narrowbody plane I think the two dividers and the rope are much better than a curtain. And rumour has it they will be installing a divider on the new planes.

VA have also removed a row of Y from the two prototype cabins to increase room in J.

FL420FT · Sat Nov 13, 2021 9:39 am

SenFinn wrote:
Have been checking business class return fares SYD to LA in December and the prices are interesting:
United $9k
Delta $11k
Qantas $16k

I’m thinking QF has underestimated demand or they’re just making hay.

With the projected flight schedule, it's underestimated demand.

qf002 · Sat Nov 13, 2021 11:14 am

FL420FT wrote:
With the projected flight schedule, it's underestimated demand.

I don't think QF has underestimated demand at all (given they are reactivating A380s as quickly as they can, investing in upgrading A332s to support the long-haul fleet etc) - any lack of supply is due to the extremely rapid way that borders have reopened. Nobody could have reliably foreseen where we would be now back in September or even early-October.

aussie747 · Sun Nov 14, 2021 2:50 am

They have underestimated demand as some flights even up to 2 weeks in advance are full in business class and premium economy but plenty is seats in economy . Proof that 787’s are not premium heavy for the LAX market and more services need to be added sooner rather than later . But with delta and United no problem in accessing the lower yield fares

RyanairGuru · Sun Nov 14, 2021 3:31 am

Delta and United have clearly found a market moving cargo through the pandemic, so it isn’t an appeals-to-apples comparison, but when United are flying double daily 77Ws while Qantas are three-weekly 787s, Qantas have really screwed themselves with their lethargic return to service. There’s no excuse for not having 10 787s ready to go, and all the A330s should be free as well as they are doing bugger all Perth flying.

EK413 · Sun Nov 14, 2021 4:03 am

RyanairGuru wrote:
Delta and United have clearly found a market moving cargo through the pandemic, so it isn’t an appeals-to-apples comparison, but when United are flying double daily 77Ws while Qantas are three-weekly 787s, Qantas have really screwed themselves with their lethargic return to service. There’s no excuse for not having 10 787s ready to go, and all the A330s should be free as well as they are doing bugger all Perth flying.

Haven’t QF brought forward or attempting to bring forward the delivery of the 3 x B789’s parked at VCV?

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tullamarine · Sun Nov 14, 2021 4:09 am

EK413 wrote:
RyanairGuru wrote:
Delta and United have clearly found a market moving cargo through the pandemic, so it isn’t an appeals-to-apples comparison, but when United are flying double daily 77Ws while Qantas are three-weekly 787s, Qantas have really screwed themselves with their lethargic return to service. There’s no excuse for not having 10 787s ready to go, and all the A330s should be free as well as they are doing bugger all Perth flying.

Haven’t QF brought forward or attempting to bring forward the delivery of the 3 x B789’s parked at VCV?

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The 3 789s are nominally ready apart from some livery on one of them obviously destined for something special but Boeing has frozen 787 deliveries for most of this year due to production issues that still need to be remedied and signed off by FAA so no one is really sure when delivery may be possible.

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